New Eastpoint brewery coming to Forgotten Coast

Josh Parker, owner and head brewer at Eastpoint Beer Company, flashed a big smile recently after hanging a "Coming Soon" sign outside the future site of his new craft brewery. Eastpoint Beer Company hopes to open its doors in August.(Photo: Josh Parker)

EASTPOINT - There are days when Josh Parker just finds himself staring out into the Gulf of Mexico.

His mind doesn't wander. It doesn't get lost at sea. But it does go deep down a rabbit hole of reflection and appreciation about how he ended up here.

"Sometimes, it feels like a dream," says the 45-old former construction foreman from upstate New York who is just a few months away from opening Eastpoint Beer Company — North Florida's newest craft brewery. "But it's a dream we've had for awhile."

And these days, Parker is ready to live it.

By August, the Forgotten Coast should be home to its second craft brewery. That's when Parker says EBC hopes to open its doors and join Oyster City Brewing Company in nearby Apalachicola as a 1-2 coastal craft beer punch.

Of course, those hopes were put on hold briefly Sunday night when a massive wildfire broke out in Eastpoint, threatening everything and every one of the seaside town's 2,500 residents in its path. Parker said if it wasn't for the quick reaction by Franklin County officials to contain the out-of-control blaze, he knew it could all be over before it ever even started.

By Monday morning, as the smoke quite literally cleared, Parker put work on his brewery on hold and began working on a way to help.

"I really want to be a good neighbor. When I learned of the magnitude of the fire damage from Sunday night, it was clear we needed to help out our new community," Parker said. "We got together with the Tallahassee Beer Society, Oyster City and Proof Brewing Company to help organize a fundraiser for the Franklin Promise Coalition on Monday, July 2 at Proof, to benefit the the 30-plus families that have been rendered homeless by this tragic event. I didn't want to keep building until I did something to help rebuild."

Eastpoint Beer Company founder Josh Parker, 45, is a former construction foreman from upstate New York who left his job a few years ago to pursue his passion for brewing beer.(Photo: Josh Parker)

Once construction begins again on Eastpoint Beer Company, the finished product should be one that will brighten the town's spirits.

"The first time I drove through Eastpoint was about 5 years ago. As I meandered down the Forgotten Coast, I couldn't believe that this much unspoiled natural beauty existed on the coast of Florida," Parker said of his thoughts as the fire raged. "I grew up in a small town in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains. We chopped wood for heat in the winter and used the ponds and streams to cool ourselves in the summer. It was a wonderful simple life, and to my late father David, I am truly grateful for the lessons we learned growing up this way. I would probably still be up there if it wasn't for the addiction to the waters of the lower latitudes that grew inside me since vacationing in Florida as a kid. To me, Eastpoint gave me both of these worlds together. It's unique and remarkable. I already feel a kinship to the residents of this area."

Constructing community

Parker, an avid home brewer since his early 20s, plans to offer anywhere from 5-to-7 different styles of brews when EBC debuts, focusing on beers like brown ales, dry stouts, light lagers and — Parker's personal favorite — New England IPAs. He'll be doing it all on a small 3-barrel system to begin with, but he has plans to expand as demand calls for it. And Parker doesn't plan to sell food, instead opting to focus solely on brewing beer while working with, and supporting, local restaurants that surround him.

"We've got some great places to eat here across the street and blocks away, and any of their food will be welcome in the tasting room. I just want to get brewing and get open," he said. "But there is room to grow. And I could see a point where the entire bottom floor becomes the brewhouse and the tasting room would be the deck upstairs, overlooking the water."

He bought the future site of Eastpoint Beer Company —- a small 2,000 square foot waterfront building located just past famed Lynn's Quality Oysters & Seafood Market off Highway 98 — last year. And the attention to detail to truly capture that Eastpoint vibe has consumed him daily.

Parker is a fanatic for repurposing wood and has been a self-admitted wood pack-rat over the years. The beams he's putting in the main bar area came from an old barn built in the 1700s in Trumansburg, N.Y., that was owned by a local judge. Parker became friends with the judge's family and at one point helped them take the barn down in exchange for keeping some of the beams, which he later had shipped to Florida to use in the construction of EBC.

The main tasting room of Eastpoint Beer Company will feature reclaimed pallet wood on the walls, repurposed barn beams as focal points in the bar, metal roofing as the back panels and granite counter tops. Oh, and don't forget about the official EBC mascot, "Jack," who is also the general manager overseeing everything.(Photo: Josh Parker)

"When you're doing most of the projects and build-out yourself, you feel like you're spinning in circles some days. But we're making progress and I like how it's coming along," Parker said. "This is home now, and I'm glad to be here in a place with so much history and character. There's a lot of authenticity in Eastpoint. And I think folks here are excited to have us."

The "us" part of that equation is Parker's right-hand woman — and really the only person currently helping him build his craft brewery from scratch: Girlfriend Jennifer Klingmann.

Klingmann took a leap of faith over a year ago and moved to Eastpoint to help Parker pursue his goal. Soon after landing in town, Klingmann — a licensed massage therapist — opened the Gulf Coast Institute of Massage and Healing, while also handling many of the behind-the-scenes aspects of EBC (like branding, marketing and social media) in her spare time.

"We're both so freaking excited," said Parker, who tabled his homebrewing passion many years ago to pursue opportunities in construction and real estate, which included overseeing the building of elaborate sets for the Walt Disney Company for much of his career. "We just sit here some days, shaking out heads at how lucky we feel to be in Eastpoint."

Eastpoint Beer Company will have both an indoor/outdoor bar area that faces Highway 98.(Photo: Josh Parker)

'In control of the vision'

A few years ago, though, he didn't feel like this time would ever come.

He poured everything he had into starting a craft brewery in the Finger Lakes region of New York with a friend in 2016. But he said a difference in opinions over the direction of the brewery with his business partners eventually forced him to pull out before the doors ever opened.

"It was sad to walk away from that project because I did so much of the grunt work and put in countless hours of labor to get it ready. But I wasn't happy with the artistic direction and some of the compromises I was being asked to make, and I'm glad I left," Parker said. "Looking back, it was a lot of wasted time and money on my part, but the good thing was it was a great dry run to prepare for for this. I learned a lot. And it's good to be in control of the vision I have now."

And that vision is already being supported by some of the area's major craft beer players, like the St. George Island Brewfest Committee, which was pumped to hear a second craft brewery was coming to Franklin County.

"We’re excited to have Eastpoint Beer Company open up!" SGI Brewfest Marketing Director Cutler Edwards said. "We have a wonderful relationship with Oyster City Brewing, and are really looking forward to having another local brewery practicing their craft on the Forgotten Coast. Local support and — literally — local flavor are what makes the SGI Brewfest so special. Eastpoint Beer Company will be a great addition to the area."

Parker said the Eastpoint community has been equally intrigued about the first craft brewery coming to their town.

"We have people stopping in pretty regularly, asking questions, telling us they're excited. The feedback has been nothing but positive," he said. "I feel like Eastpoint is the perfect place for a brewery atmosphere."

The view from the back of Eastpoint Beer Company faces the picturesque Gulf of Mexico and the bustling oyster farming scene in Eastpoint, which is famously known as the "Oyster Capital of the World."(Photo: Josh Parker)

Good company

In the meantime, as EBC waits to open its doors, Parker said he's beginning to feel like he's settling into his new home. He has personally visited all of the area's craft breweries and praised the quality of brew that the local craft beer scene has to offer.

And his goal is for Eastpoint Beer Company to become a valued and beloved part of that scene very soon.

"Oyster City, Deep, Proof, Ology, Lake Tribe, GrassLands — even places like Idylls Hounds Brewing going the other direction — are all making some great, great beer," Parker said. "It feels surreal some days when we stop for a moment, take a deep breath and realize that we're here in such a great location and we're doing this. But it's a great feeling to have. And we can't wait for everyone to taste our beer."

If you'd like to get involved in the charity fundraiser with Eastpoint Beer Company, Oyster City Brewing and Proof Brewing Company that's being held Monday, July 2, please email the Tallahassee Beer Society for details at: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.

Tallahassee resident Danny Aller is a member of the TLH Beer Society team. Email him at tlhbeersociety@gmail.com